Strings of Fate by Kit Bryan
Chapter 202

Strings of Fate

202- Calories and clothing

I wake up late in the morning, it might even be early afternoon. I wriggle around a little. which prompts Bellamy to do the same, he is apparently already awake. He raises a finger to his lips to shush me before I speak and I can see why. Kiara is still sleeping, lying in the bed between us. She is still loosely holding onto my arm, even in sleep. I slowly disentangle myself from her light grip and slide out of bed. Bellamy follows, clearly doing his best not to jostle her and wake her up. She definitely needs the sleep. She was restless for a good part of the night and almost definitely was having nightmares, but she seems like she’s sleeping soundly now. My own sleep was blissfully quiet. No visions or anything thank goodness. I’m looking forward to having several weeks of steady sleep and so help me if anything tragic or dramatic happens for the next few weeks then whoever is responsible should probably be terrified of me. We step into the hallway to talk without disturbing Kiara.

“We should probably set up one of the guest rooms for her.” Bellamy comments thoughtfully. I nod my agreement.

“Yeah, and we need to get her some clothes.” I hesitate before adding,

“I thought maybe Kiara and I could go this afternoon when she’s up? We’ll take Aaron obviously.” I’m not sure why this is coming out as a question. We’ve caught the killers, it

should be totally safe for us to go out again. Okay, I guess I don’t want Bellamy’s permission exactly, I don’t need it. But I would like his approval. I can practically see the thoughts passing through his head as he considers.

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea. Maybe see if Megan wants to go too? You’ve both been cooped up for way too long. It’ll be good for you to get out. Get the kid some clothes. and maybe a few other things, comfort items, toiletries, books? I don’t know, whatever it is that make girls her age feel at home. Whatever it is that she likes. Get her some snacks and junk food too, she could use the extra calories. I’m going to talk to Alex about looking into her family situation. Her parents passed, but she might have some extended family out there somewhere.” He reasons. I nod, I know that replaceing her family would be ideal for her, but I don’t think I’m ready to say goodbye yet. Then again, I doubt it will happen immediately and in the meantime I will spoil that girl to the best of my ability. I’m thrilled that Bellamy is agreeing to my plan to go out. He seems far more relaxed with the threat against me taken care of but I suspect it will take him a while to lower his guard a bit and settle down completely. Still he’s being more than reasonable. I replace I am ridiculously excited to go

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202- Calories and clothing

shopping. I grin at him and without warning, throw my arms around his neck in a hug. Bellamy laughs and hugs me back. When I pull away he immediately pulls me back again to kiss me. He kisses me until I start to feel dizzy.

“I’ll get that guest room set up today. I like Kiara, but I definitely want to be alone with you.” He whispers, causing me to flush bright red. I retreat back into the bedroom to grab my clothes and change in the ensuite. Kiara is just starting to stir when I exit.

She bolts upright in alarm, her eyes wide and searching the room frantically. I immediately

rush to her side.

“Shh, it’s alright. You’re alright.” I reassure her. She clings to me and after a minute or so her breathing begins to steady out again.

“Another bad dream?” I ask and she nods, hiding her face against my chest.

“Poor thing. You look better today at least.” I comment. It’s not a lie. She still looks way too

thin, but she isn’t nearly as pale and a lot of her bruising has begun to fade overnight. That

potion is no joke.

“How does your chest feel? Are you still coughing?” I prompt. Kiara tilts her head to the side adorably while she thinks. She ends up holding up a hand and tilting it to the side in a ‘so–so‘ type motion. Okay, so some improvement there too then.

“Do you feel well enough to go out today? I thought we might go shopping and get you some nice things to wear. But it will depend on if you’re ready to go walking around.” I tell her. Kiara looks eager and immediately launches herself out of the bed. She does it so enthusiastically that she catches her foot on a blanket and tumbles out head first and lands in a heap on the floor. I’m worried for a half a second until she pushes herself back up again and shakily gets back to her feet.

“Can you walk?” I ask. Kiara takes a few tentative steps then beams at me happily at her success. A second later she folds forward. The movement is so sudden that I think she’s fallen again, but no, she’s actually just bent over and is touching her toes. She seems thrilled to be able to move around so easily. I make a mental note to thank Dr Dae again, and Cam. Seriously, between the two of them I suspect there isn’t much they couldn’t do.

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202- Calories and clothing

Kiara and I work together to rummage through the closet looking for something presentable enough for her to wear out of the house while we get her proper clothes. We settle on a tshirt dress that Bellamy must have added to my things on our last shopping expedition that I haven’t worn yet. It’s big on her, but she doesn’t look too silly and it keeps her covered. I use an old belt from another dress and tie it around her waist to hold it in place a little better. She leaves the shorts on underneath since we haven’t gotten her any underwear yet and we don’t want to risk her flashing anyone. They look a little bulky under the fabric of the dress, but she doesn’t look too silly. We agree on her wearing a pair of slip on shoes that I have. They’re too big on her, but she can walk in them okay and we can prioritise getting shoes when we’re out. I carry the shoes in my left hand while Kiara holds onto my right as we head downstairs. I drop the shoes off in the

hallway for her to put on when we’re ready to go. But first, she needs to eat and I can smell something good coming from the kitchen. I can also hear voices talking. Kiara seems nervous as we enter but doesn’t resist as I tug her along. Megan is in the kitchen pulling

Darrien is getting juice out of the fridge out of the oven while Bellamy sets the table.

and fetching glasses.

“Morning sleepyheads.” Megan greets us brightly. I get Kiara settled at the table and in moments Megan is placing some freshly made savoury breakfast muffins on a plate in front of her. Kiara looks ravenous and immediately digs in. We’re all eating when Aaron arrives. Bellamy lets him in and at my prompting, he joins us at the table for what is essentially brunch. The meal is laid back and everyone is chatting happily. Well, except for Kiara who is still quiet. I do catch her making a silly face at Aaron though whose face is twitching as he tries not to react. Hahaha nice, she wants to try to break him too. I’m glad she doesn’t seem afraid of him anymore. During a lull in the conversation I notice that Darrien seems a little down. I’m about to ask what he could possibly be unhappy about when he unintentionally answers the question himself.

“|

suppose since the danger has passed I should probably look at moving back to my old place.” He seems resigned, but not happy. I can understand why. He wants to be near Megan. If he’s anything like Bellamy he probably sleeps better when she’s nearby, even if that only means in the same house. I check Megan’s reaction and she’s frowning like it hadn’t occurred to her that he would have to leave. A glance at Bellamy shows that he has likely made all the same observations that I have. He makes eye contact and I raise an eyebrow in a silent question. He nods and gestures for me to take care of it. I think carefully about what I am going to say.